Celebrating Flag Day

Flag Day is celebrated in America on June 14th to commemorate the day the first flag resolution was passed. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed a flag resolution stating:

Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.

The first national observance of Flag Day was on June 14, 1877; 100 years after the flag resolution was adopted by the Continental Congress.

So, who came up with the idea of Flag Day? In the late 19th century, schoolteachers all over the United States began steering patriotic ceremonies commemorating Flag Day as a way to teach children about history. One such schoolteacher was Bernard J. Cigrand, who is often referred to as the “Father of Flag Day.” He lobbied Congress for many years for Flag Day to be officially observed.

Other patriotic groups, including the Colonial Dames and the Sons of the American Revolution, also spent years trying to convince Congress to make Flag Day official.

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation stating that June 14 shall be National Flag Day in May of 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after President Wilson’s proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949 that it was made official by President Truman, who signed an Act of Congress to designate June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

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